We used to have CCTV in Rhuthun/Ruthin town centre. It was part-time and covered little ground. That's gone. Informed sources report that, at a meeting a fortnight or so ago, a town councillor asked that CCTV be widely reintroduced in Rhuthun. The councillor's plea was understandable. We were in the midst of a period of anti-social behavioural problems. This thanks to out-of-control teenagers. (Where were their parents?)
The only CCTV we currently have is to try to control littering at the junction of Station Road and Well Street. But this image suggests that the CCTV hasn't been wholly successful.
But it would be a very sad day were Rhuthun to have to be peppered with CCTV cameras. Have we really reached the point where we need the surveillance state here?
When Big Brother Watch says, 'There are more CCTV cameras in Hackney than in the whole of Wales', we don't want Rhuthun to help to level the odds. Using what they say is a well-regarded 2008 study, they believe that CCTV is most effective when deterring vehicle theft from car parks but only if coupled with improved fencing, lighting, etc. They quote a Swedish report that concluded CCTV was only 'marginally successful'.
They state, 'Without further empirical research on the use of CCTV past and present, we have no real idea of what areas of crime are reduced by the use of this technology.'
The more observant of us will already know that we do actually have plenty of CCTV in town. That's because of a number of shops or businesses have cameras pointing into the street. How necessary are these? Have they resulted in any arrests or police action and, if so, how often and how much? More to the point, how many people actually know of them? If they're unknown, how can they act as a deterrent?
Here are some Rhuthun examples, some of which are fairly unlikely:
